Good morning, it’s Monday, April 6, 2026. In today’s edition, states move to roll back data center tax breaks; Dems sue over Trump mail-in voting order; Trump backs Hilton in California Gov race:
Top Stories
ENERGY: Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) has signed legislation ending a sales tax break for data center equipment, and lawmakers in at least four other states are considering shrinking or scrapping tax breaks for the facilities. Proposals in Arizona, Georgia and Idaho didn’t move forward this year, but their introduction signals the growing backlash against data centers states once sought to woo. (Pluribus News)
MORE: The Pennsylvania legislature is considering bills to support advanced transmission technologies, requiring utilities to use the new technology for existing transmission lines before building new ones. Another bill would provide financial incentives for customers to participate in utility-run virtual power plants. (State Affairs)
VOTING: Attorneys general from 23 states have sued to block President Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), seeks to block federal agencies from following the directive to make a list of eligible voters to whom absentee ballots may be sent. (State of Politics)
MORE: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has signed legislation requiring the Secretary of State to verify citizenship for all voters annually. The law requires local elections officials to run additional citizenship checks if new voters don’t have or can’t provide a driver’s license number on their applications. (Mississippi Free Press)
ABORTION: The Maryland House has given final approval to legislation enshrining emergency abortion protections into state law. The bill requires hospitals treating a patient with an emergency pregnancy-related condition to do what’s needed to stabilize the patient, even if that means terminating the pregnancy. (Maryland Matters)
TORT REFORM: The Missouri Senate has unanimously approved legislation broadening protections against strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits. The bill would give judges a faster path to dismiss those suits, a version of model legislation that has won passage in other states in recent years. (Missouri Independent)
GUN POLITICS: A federal appeals court has upheld a Maine law requiring someone purchasing a firearm to wait 72 hours. The court vacated a district court judge’s earlier ruling against the measure, which he said was “indiscriminate” because it applied to all gun owners. (Maine Public Radio)
PUBLIC SAFETY: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) has signed legislation banning cell phone use while driving in school or construction zones. The bill, which won bipartisan support, would allow distracted drivers to be fined $60. (KSNT)
In Politics & Business
CALIFORNIA: President Trump has endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R) for governor, days before the state GOP meets in San Diego to consider an endorsement in the race. Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) are at or near the top of polls in the all-party primary as a big Democratic field splits the base. (Los Angeles Times)
Trump has done Democrats a favor here: If Republicans flock to Hilton, it gives Democrats a much improved chance of landing a candidate among the top two finishers. Whispers about a brewing disaster that leads to an all-GOP general election are getting louder among California Democrats.
INDIANA: Gov. Mike Braun (R) is set to pump $500,000 into next month’s state Senate primaries, targeting opponents of his plan to redistrict the state’s congressional district lines. It’s not clear which incumbents Braun will target. A PAC backed by U.S. Sen. Jim Banks (R) has already supported several challengers. (Indianapolis Star)
NEW YORK: Former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey chief of staff Drew Warshaw (D) says he has collected enough signatures to challenge longtime Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (D) in this year’s Democratic primary. DiNapoli hasn’t faced a serious Democratic primary challenge since first taking office in 2007. (State of Politics)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Democrats have fielded candidates for all 124 seats in the state House, the first time in a generation in which every seat will be contested. Republicans own a supermajority of seats in the legislature. (Charleston City Paper)
By The Numbers
13,869: The number of kids on a waitlist for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. The program has frozen enrollment in some counties where staff crunches mean there aren’t enough spots for kids. (Colorado Sun)
Nearly 6,500: The number of abandoned or “orphaned” oil wells in Louisiana. Cleaning them up is likely to cost the state somewhere around $730 million. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
$190.1 million: The U.S. box office revenue earned by “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” the biggest five-day opening of the year for a Hollywood movie. The film brought in $182 million in 80 overseas markets, on top of the American haul. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
The Rio Grande River is at risk of running dry this summer for just the third time in 40 years. The river is running at about 500 cubic feet per second at the Cochiti Dam, about half its normal flow. (Albuquerque Journal)
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said Friday it would stop printing its rival, the Las Vegas Sun, for the first time since the 1970s. Friday marked the first time in 76 years that the Sun did not go to print. The two papers operated under a joint agreement, but a lower court found the agreement was unenforceable because a 2005 update was never signed by the U.S. attorney general. (Associated Press)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think it’s a good thing.”
— Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), on a Republican primary in which candidates have turned their attacks on each other. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)